William Hanna and Joseph Barbera: The Sultans of Saturday Morning (Legends of Animation)

The seven-time Oscar-winning team of William Hanna and Joseph Barbera created or produced some of film and television's most beloved cartoon characters, including Tom and Jerry, the Flintstones, Yogi Bear, Jonny Quest, the Jetsons, and Scooby-Doo. They also pioneered and revolutionized television animation with a less-expensive style of animation that allowed them to produce the hundreds of memorable cartoon series still shown today around the globe.

Hayao Miyazaki: Master of Japanese Animation

Oscar-winning director Hayao Miyazaki is the genius behind such animated classics as Princess Mononoke, Kiki’s Delivery Service, and Nausicaä of the Valley of the Winds. His bountiful imagination and compassion have earned him accolades the world over. Until the early 1990s, Miyazaki’s work was largely unfamiliar to American audiences. But that would soon change, and now fans of all ages eagerly await new material from the master.

Your Career in Animation: How to Survive and Thrive

Animation is a multibillion-dollar industry. Here’s an insider’s guide to getting into that industry, staying there, and getting ahead. Author David B. Levy has interviewed the top pros in animation, including Steven Hillenburg, creator of SpongeBob SquarePants; Al Brodax, producer of Yellow Submarine; Teddy Newton, character designer on The Incredibles; Linda Simensky, senior director of PBS Kids; John R. Dilworth, creator of Courage the Cowardly Dog; and dozens of others to get their insights....

Dialogue: The Art of Verbal Action for Page, Stage, and Screen

In Dialogue, Robert McKee offers in-depth analysis for how characters speak on the screen, on the stage, and on the page in believable and engaging ways. From Macbeth to Breaking Bad, McKee deconstructs key scenes to illustrate the strategies and techniques of dialogue. Dialogue applies a framework of incisive thinking to instruct the prospective writer on how to craft artful, impactful speech.

Genndy Tartakovsky: From Russia to Coming-of-Age Animator (Legends of Animation)

At the age of seven, Genndy Tartakovsky moved with his family from Russia to the United States, where American cartoons and comic books soon captivated his imagination and inspired him to become an artist. Known for fast-paced, action-packed stories and a distinctive animation style, he created the animated sensations Dexter's Laboratory and Samurai Jack and worked on the breakout hit, The Powerpuff Girls. He then directed the animated microseries Star Wars: The Clone Wars and created the original series Sym-Bionic Titan.

Hayao Miyazaki is one of the world's most respected Japanese animation filmmakers. He is known for creating compelling characters, engaging stories, and breathtaking animation, all of which have earned him international acclaim while setting box-office records. Miyazaki, who began his career in 1963 as an in-betweener for Toei Doga studio, soon found his true calling as an anime and manga artist, working on classic Japanese features and television series and writing the best-selling manga, Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind.

Walter Lantz: Made Famous by a Woodpecker (Legends of Animation)

Ten-time Oscar-nominated Walter Lantz was one of Hollywood's most prolific directors and producers of animation. Over six decades, his studio produced more than 800 cartoons, including over 600 theatrically released cartoons, more than any other Hollywood animation studio, and set high standards for the art of animation in its fledgling years. Lantz is renowned for producing cartoons starring the world-famous Woody Woodpecker.

Matt Groening: From Spitballs to Springfield (Legends of Animation)

Matt Groening is a cartoonist, animator, and producer best known for creating The Simpsons, television's longest-running primetime animated series. Although it debuted as a series of cartoon shorts for another television show in 1987, The Simpsons launched on its own in 1989, making the dysfunctional family of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie famous almost overnight.

Walt Disney: The Triumph of the American Imagination

Seven years in the making and meticulously researched - Gabler is the first writer to be given complete access to the Disney archives - this is the full story of a man whose work left an ineradicable brand on our culture but whose life has largely been enshrouded in myth.

Walt Disney: The Mouse That Roared (Legends of Animation)

Best known for creating Mickey Mouse, Walt Disney is one of the 20th century's most honored and important icons of animation. Nominated for 63 Academy Awards, he produced many cartoons and feature films considered classics today. Walt Disney: The Mouse That Roared delves into this man's colorful life, explaining the inspiration for his classic creations and revolutionary animation techniques.

John Lasseter: The Whiz Who Made Pixar King (Legends of Animation)

A two-time Academy Award-winning director and animator, John Lasseter is a founding member of and the creative force behind Pixar Animation Studios. Pixar is responsible for ushering in the age of computer-animation and revolutionizing the industry, having produced blockbuster features such as Cars, Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Monsters Inc., and Wall-E.

To Pixar and Beyond: My Unlikely Journey with Steve Jobs to Make Entertainment History

After Steve Jobs was unceremoniously dismissed from Apple, he turned his attention to a little-known graphics art company that he owned called Pixar. One day, out of the blue, Jobs called Lawrence Levy, a Harvard-trained lawyer and Silicon Valley executive to whom he had never spoken before, in the hope of persuading Levy to help him get Pixar on the right track. What Levy found in Pixar was a company on the verge of failure. To Pixar and Beyond is the extraordinary story of what happened next.

Publisher's Summary

Tex Avery, considered the father of screwball animation, was one of the most influential animators of the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s. Creator of such classic characters as Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, and Droopy, he directed many cartoons for Warner Bros., MGM, and Walter Lantz Productions and was nominated for six Academy Awards.

Avery did much of his groundbreaking work in Hollywood, running the famous "Termite Terrace" animation studio. There, with a team that included fellow innovators Chuck Jones and Bob Clampett, Avery developed an animation style based on the idea that the artist could do anything in a cartoon and didn't need to base it in reality. Although Avery was blind in one eye, he did not let it hold him back. Known for his inventiveness and comic timing, he forged a legacy that influences animators today.

Tex Avery: Hollywood's Master of Screwball Cartoons illustrates this animation pioneer's life, his inspiration, and his lasting effect on the animation world.

As my title suggests I feel that only the avid cartoon buff would want to listen to this book. If you happen to be one of those as I am I think that you will find this book worth your time. This book covers Avery's career at both Warner Bros. and MGM Studios as well as his later career directing television commercials quite thoroughly. If you are also looking to learn about the subject as far as his private life is concerned it is touched upon but does not go into any great depth. The reason being he was a very private person and did not grant many interviews nor do a lot of personal appearances. If indeed you are looking to find out about his private life you probably will find this book not to be worth your time or effort. The Reader though he tries his best to my ear comes off a bit wooden in his performance. I still found the subject matter absorbing. Remember, minutiae of his craft or career this book may not be for you.

What did you love best about Tex Avery: Hollywood's Master of Screwball Cartoons (Legends of Animation)?

What I loved best about Tex Avery was his humility. I really enjoyed how this audiobook went all the way back to his beginnings in Taylor, Texas. I learned a lot about Tex Avery but something that really stood out was that he was a lineal descendent of both Judge Roy Bean and Daniel Boone. Tex made "What's up Doc" a standard salutaion in the mainstream of society.

What other book might you compare Tex Avery: Hollywood's Master of Screwball Cartoons (Legends of Animation) to and why?

I don't know of any other books I would compare this one to other than the other Legends of Animation Series books.

What about Scott O'Neill’s performance did you like?

His performance was fine. He kept a steady pace and was easy to understand. I enjoyed his work very much.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

If I were to make a film of this book, the tag line would be the title. "Tex Avery: Hollywood's Master of Screwball Cartoons".